An Interesting Year
by Daffy.Duck100
Summary: Alex Malatia and Abbie Carlo were expecting a normal year at Hogwarts now that Voldermort had finally been defeated-they couldn't have been more wrong! Being best friends with the Boy-Who-Lived was crazy enough but what will happen when they get forced to work with two Slytherins for an all year potions project? Very cliché but oh well, story better than summary Draco/OC Blaise/OC
1. Chapter 1

***Alex POV* **

Finally fifth year was over and the wizarding world was free from the shroud of fear that Voldemort had placed over it. Sitting in the great hall had never felt so good before, I finally felt…home. Don't get me wrong, the early mornings killed me and if it wasn't for Hermione, I never would have got up. It was the sound of my best friend's voice, Abbie that pulled me back from my thoughts. "So, what have we all got this morning?" she asked, a hopeful look in her eyes. I looked around and saw the disappointed scowl that graced my friends' features. Yep, we all knew it… double potions with professor Snape. The biased, greasy haired, hooked nosed potions teacher. And to top it all off, we are with Slytherin. Groaning inwardly, I let my eyes fall on the 'leader' of our group, Harry Potter. He met my eyes and sighed at the knowing look we both shared. "Double Potions, with Slytherin" he drawled out, placing his head in his hands. "Don't remind me! I'm still not over the fact I managed to pass last year!" Ron added, with exaggerated shock. Abbie and I both giggled at his antics, but Hermione looked far from amused. I playfully nudged Ron on the shoulder and said "Don't be stupid! You're not that bad at potions" in between giggles. Ron's ears turned a red that could rival his hair and smiled sheepishly. "You think so?" he asked, barley looking up from his food. We all exchanged looks and Harry was barely keeping in his laughter. I knew he was laughing at me and I planned to get him back later. "Sure… you're better than… that spoon" I said, hoping he wouldn't take offence. To my relief, and everyone else's amusement, he wore a smile that stretched ear to ear. At that point, everyone just burst out laughing. Neither one of us caring about the stares we were receiving from the other houses. I was laughing that much, I didn't even notice the Slytherin Prince himself was stood behind me until he said "I don't know how you put up with them, Ali" He emphasized 'Ali' as he knows I hate it "They'll kill your reputation with all this embarrassing laughter" Next to me, Abbie was trying to hide her sniggers at the fact he called me Ali. I kicked her under the table, maybe a little harder than I intended but at least she shut up. She squealed quietly, clinging to her shin and said "Ow! You've gotta stop doing that!" I rolled my eyes in mock annoyance and turned to the blonde prat behind me. "Wow, Pip-Squeak actually talks" he mocked shock and put his hand to his heart. "I- I…. You- Uh…. Git!" Abbie stuttered exasperated. Malfoy simply laughed at this and I noticed that when he laughs his eyes sparkle and seemed to turn a lighter shade of blue. Wait! What am I saying? I hate this guy! Get a grip Alex! Hermione soon caught my attention when she slammed her fist against the table causing some of the food to spill over. "Haven't you got anything better to do than pester us Malfoy?" she tested scowling. God, if looks could kill, Malfoy would be six feet under! "No, believe it or not, tormenting you lot is my favourite hobby! And on that note I'll see you all in Potions," he smirked walking off. Just when I thought he was gone, I heard his voice right next to my ear "And, I'll definitely save you a seat… Ali" I was that startled, I practically jumped onto Ron's lap. Even though I kept a cool face, I could feel my cheeks flaring. "Bloody hell," Ron said, as startled as me "What are you doing?" I was so embarrassed I tried to hide behind my hair "Sorry" was all I could manage to squeak out. I sat back in my place, more than embarrassed now and tried to look anywhere but at the striking blonde head walking out of the Great Hall. Abbie leaned over and said "I heard what he said y'know… I thought you were sitting with me in potions" She laughed hysterically as she said this and I swotted her arm away playfully. "Just be quiet you!" I said laughing myself. "What are you two laughing at?" Harry asked sceptically. Almost immediately I snapped my head around and said "Nothing! Absolutely Nothing!" He smiled knowingly, almost as if his eyes were saying 'I'll find out later'. "Hmm…"

***Abbie POV***

I was laughing the entire way to potions just at the thought of my best friend, Alex, sitting with Draco Malfoy. He sure knew how to push her buttons. The minute we stopped outside of the dungeons, anyone could see the dread in her eyes. The look she gave me was enough to set me off laughing all over again and if it wasn't for Hermione pushing her into the classroom, I'm pretty sure I would have had another bruise on my arm. I calmed down just in time as Professor Snape was already ushering us into the room. Taking my usual seat next to Hermione, I watched Alex walking over to me with her smile on her face. That smile, however, was swiped off her face when she heard Draco clear his throat from behind her. I looked over her shoulder to see Draco motioning to the seat next to him with a boyish smirk plastered to his face. That was just too much and I went completely over the edge! I was giggling so much that my stomach was actually hurting. I made Alex turn around to face him and I swear I felt her shudder. From embarrassment I don't know. Swiftly giving Draco the finger Alex turned back around, effectively avoiding my amused gaze. Laughing one more time to myself, I re-joined Alex and Hermione at our desk.

The class resumed as normal, well as normal as potions can be, but the entire time I felt a pair of eyes burning into the back of my head. I was so tempted to turn and look at the them but I didn't dare in case it was someone who I didn't expect. It was extremely hard to concentrate and for the first half of the lesson Alex was constantly snapping me out of a daze. It remained this way until Snape announced a very interesting task that seemed to catch everyone of guard. Including Hermione! "Now class, as you know it is the start of a new, excruciatingly long year and we need a new project to let your small brains work on. Professor Dumbledore has come to the decision that he wants to promote house-unity throughout the school; therefor I shall be putting you into groups of four! These groups will consist of two Slytherin pupils and two Gryffindor pupils…of my choice" As if on cue, the entire class let out a frustrated groan causing Snape to deepen his ever present scowl. It was this moment that the pair of eyes stopped staring at the back of my head, much to my relief. I didn't know if I was imagining it or not but I still didn't bring myself to check. "So now I will put you in your groups," He cleared his throat and everyone looked nervous, even Draco! "Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Theodor Knott and Gregory Goyle" Snape called out. Harry and Hermione's jaws hit the floor. They looked devastated. "Ronald Weasley, Seamus Finnigan, Vincent Crabbe and Pansy Parkinson" he called out. I didn't even pay attention to the other groups until he said Draco Malfoy's name. "Draco Malfoy, Alexandra Malatia, Blaise Zambini and…" I couldn't breathe for laughing. Alex's face was a picture. It completely wiped the smile of her face and Draco's for that matter. "Abbie Carlo" I couldn't believe it. Had he really just said my name? I looked over at Alex who had the smuggest look on her face ever! I felt like slapping the smug right off her face! I glanced over at Draco's table and Blaise was staring straight at me. What was he staring at? Was there something up with my hair? Was my mascara smudged? Blaise Zambini does not just stare for no reason and he definitely doesn't stare at me for no reason. I mean I'm Pip-squeak, the 5"5 Gryffindor girl who doesn't talk. Awkwardly, I turned away from his gaze and gave my attention back to the front of the room. "Now that you have all been placed in groups, I want you to sit in your respective teams and get to work. By work I mean to talk to your team mates and get to know each other for the rest of the double," Snape announced carelessly, in his usual bored tone, "Have fun."

***Draco POV***

"_Have Fun,"_? Is he kidding me?! How were we supposed to have fun when he put us in flaming groups with bloody Gryffindor's? Yeah I was with Blaise but come on, two fifths of the 'golden five'! That's two fifths more than I could handle. Sure, I like to torment them, especially when Alex gets all flustered. Her hair goes even crazier than it already is and her cheeks tint pink. "Finally taking me up on my offer then Alex?" I asked, smirking. She looked to Pip-squeak with evil eyes which could probably scare Voldemort if she tried hard enough. Pip-squeak didn't falter under her gaze though, which kind of surprised me. "Abbie. Switch seats with me." Alex said, moving to stand up. "Huh I don't think so; I'm fine where I am." Abbie whispered, keeping her voice as quiet as possible. Blaise smirked at me, obviously hearing what Pip-squeak had said. "Hang on! What's wrong with sitting next to us?" Blaise asked, looking completely incredulous. The look on the girl's faces said it all, they hated us. Snickering to myself I barely heard Abbie say "Everything" under her breath. Both Blaise and my eye brows shot straight up when we heard what she had said. We simply stared dumbfounded for a second until mock hurt made its way onto my face. For the second time that day I put my hand over my heart and made the most innocent face I could "Everything? That's a bit extreme don't you think? There is nothing wrong with our looks, even you can't deny that one, can you Pip?" I asked. Abbie's mouth was constantly opening and closing but she just couldn't form a coherent sentence. Alex suddenly took over for her, spitting straight back at me "How do you even sit up straight with the weight of your bloody head?" Even though her voice was filled with venom, I caught the flash of amusement in her eyes. "Actually, it's rather easy! You see with all this working out I'm doing-" Alex stopped me short. "That's enough, I don't need to hear this!" she said holding up her hand as if to shush me. I chuckled at her reaction and I swear I saw the corners of her mouth twitch upwards. "Sorry to interrupt your little… session here, but some of us would like to get some work done today" Just as Blaise said this Alex protested "Like I would waste my time with that" Abbie lifted her head and said "Well you're going to have to spend a whole year with 'that', so the more we work now the less time we have to spend together outside of the classroom" I could see the anger in Alex's eyes, turning them an even darker shade of blue. Still Abbie wasn't fazed by this… now I am truly surprised. She must be used to it. "Gee thanks, glad to know you are looking forward to working with us" Blaise said sarcastically. "Of course we are Zambini! I can't think of anyone else I would rather be put with for a year. In fact I have been dreaming about this moment my entire life and now it's come true, I must be the luckiest girl alive right now!" Alex cried, clapping her hands together in a dreamy fashion. I had to slap my hand over my mouth to stop from laughing. Her 'happiness' instantly ended and she went back to her usual indifferent self.

Before we knew it Potions was over and me and Blaise were walking out of the class. But before we left Snape gave us an ingredient sheet for a Truth Potion. The problem was we had to find the ingredients on our own. That meant having to spend time with Tweedle-Dumb and Tweedle-Dee outside of class. As we were leaving, me and Blaise winked at Alex and Abbie. This caused Abbie to turn bright red and hide her face but Alex just waved and said "Bye guys!" Just as we were out of the door I heard Weasel practically shout "Malfoy and Zambini did not just wink at you two did they?!" The complete and utter disbelief in his voice caused me to double over laughing and Blaise soon joined.

***Blaise POV***

"Well that was… interesting" I said, stuffing my hands into my robe pockets. Draco gave a short laugh "Well it was far from boring if that's what you're saying," He smirked, pushing some of his hair out of his eyes. We walked along the halls in silence for a while until Draco suddenly piped up "You were staring at Pip-Squeak a lot today, something you wanna tell me?" My stomach sort of clenched when he mentioned her. I didn't realise I was staring that much, God I must have looked like a stalker to Pip. Trying to keep my face as cool as possible I turned to look at him "I don't know what you're on about Drake, must be imagining things. Anyway though, what's going on with you and Frizzy?" I asked, changing the subject to be about him. As soon as he heard Alex mentioned, his entire body tensed up. Yep, I had him. Adding to the torture, I said "You seemed pretty adamant about getting her to sit next to you, am I right?" Draco stopped dead in the hall and glared at me. I didn't miss the joking spark in his eye but I held his gaze anyway. "If anything, I didn't want the half-blood anywhere near me. I can't say whether or not I'm speaking for myself because you seemed pretty contempt with that mud blood hanging around you," "What makes you think I wanted to be around the mud blood, not worth a minute of my time. Imagine what our father's would think if they found out?" I asked, raising an eye brow in thought. Draco seemed to mirror me for a minute until he returned to his usual cocky stance. "Good job we don't care what our father's think, eh? Otherwise we wouldn't be seen dead hanging around with the likes of two attractive Gryffindor girls," He laughed, walking again. I was completely shocked at what he had said that I couldn't bring myself to follow until he was a good few paces ahead. He might be my best mate but he can be bloody confusing at times. Once again falling into step beside him, I turned to look at him. "You do realise you have just called them attractive right?" I asked, checking that he knew what he had said. Draco simply shrugged at me, "Yeah I know, no point in denying the obvious, is there?" He winked at that last part, giving me a toothy grin. Typical Draco Malfoy. I laughed shaking my head at him; this was definitely going to be an interesting year.

My thoughts came to an immediate halt when we came to sit down at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall. Pansy and Astoria were immediately all over me and Draco, clinging to our arms and pushing our hair away from our faces. Unlike Draco, who detached himself from Pansy's vice-like grip on his arm, I tried to persuade Astoria to let me go. "Astoria, do me a favour and go get me my parchment from the common room, I forgot it," I asked, giving her my most dazzling smile in the hopes she would release me. She gave me what she thought was an attractive smile and let go of my arm, standing up from the bench "Course I will baby, won't be a second" I winced when she called me 'Baby', this girl couldn't take a hint. As soon as I heard her retreating footsteps I let my head fall to the table with a loud groan. I heard Draco chuckle at me and say "Hang in there mate," I slowly lifted my head from the table with the most defeated look on my face. "It's torture! She won't leave me alone despite the fact that I do whatever I can to get away!" I regretted saying that as soon as the words left my lips…Pansy was sat with us! Before I could stop it, she had lifted her hand and full on bitch slapped me across my left cheek. It stung like hell and by the look on Draco's face, I'm certain I was sporting a red hand print on my cheek. "Don't you dare talk about my best friend like that Blaise Zambini!" Pansy shrieked in her shrill tone "She loves you and if you are too blind to see then you don't deserve her! Me and Draco are in a very loving relationship and you should take some notes on how to be a good boyfriend!" Hearing this made Draco's eyes nearly pop out of his head and he was choking on the drink that he had. I couldn't help but burst out laughing at his reaction. Loving relationship my arse, Draco loves Pansy just as much as he would love bloody Weasel-bee. "Ha Parkinson, you have got this all wrong. We're not a…. couple. Never were, never will be!" Draco exclaimed. This made me laugh even harder and Pansy's face was a picture! "Truth hurts like a bitch, doesn't it Pans?" I said mockingly. "Bu-But Drakie…" she mumbled, tears in her eyes. I sort of felt bad but then again she wasn't my 'girlfriend'. "We- We were going to get married and-" Draco cut her off "No, I don't know where you got that idea from but it wasn't me, because I would sooner marry Blaise!" he said, the irritation clear in his voice. His comparison caused me to bark with laughter "Aww I'd marry you too mate!" I said and flashed a smile at Pansy. Draco turned and glared at me and I got the message to shut up. "Fine!" Pansy shrieked and stormed off, tears streaming down her face. "Well, we should probably avoid the common room for a while" Draco suggested.


	2. Chapter 2

Hiya,** Before you read Chapter 2, I want you to know that I am in a partnership writing this story but we decided to upload it on my account. I am writing this story with 100 (I know we have similar names- that is the result of us being best friends). We will try to upload each chapter as soon as possible but we don't promise anything haha;)****But that is enough of me rambling- here is chapter 2 of An Interesting Year**

***Alex POV***

"Why would Ferret Boy and Astoria's boy-toy wink at you two?" Ron quizzed. Abbie and I were sat in the Gryffindor common room with Harry, Hermione and Ron gathered around us like a shield. It was beginning to frustrate me because of the lack of trust they had. "Why are you so bothered Ron, we didn't snog them! Jesus!" I shouted unable to keep it in any longer. "Well you did wave back!" Hermione added. "Ever heard of sarcasm?" I bit back, not caring how awful I must have sounded. It's like they didn't even know me, they know how easily I get riled up! They just wouldn't stop pushing it tonight. "Well, you didn't have to become all friendly with them. You don't see Ron winking at Pansy do you?" Harry exclaimed. "The entire double they were at each other's throats Harry. They are far from friendly!" Abbie said defending me. That seemed to shut Harry up for now but I could tell from the look in his eyes that he was far from done with this conversation. Abbie and I were both stood at this point, defending ourselves for no reason! We hadn't done anything wrong, all of this was pointless. Frantically running a hand through my wild curls, I sighed, completely exhausted from the shouting. "What do you want us to do? It's not like we can avoid working with them. This project will go for half of our N.E.W.T's." I said, trying to calm myself down. Unfortunately, everyone else was far from calm. Hermione's usually calm and collected pose was that of a frantic women and Ron's face could practically blend in with his hair. "We can't exactly change the groups now but if you want to try and reason with PROFESSOR SNAPE…then by all means, be my guest." Abbie suggested, each and every syllable dripping with sarcasm. Six years of friendship and I was finally rubbing off on her. I turned to leave, completely sick of fighting with them over nothing. A little wink. Are they being serious? Ron's body blocking my way told me they were. I looked up completely furious. Ron seemed to cower under my gaze and backed up slightly. I must have looked scarier than I thought. "What. Are. You. Doing?" I said through gritted teeth. I was ready to launch at him! By the looks of it so was Abbie. I've never seen her look so… angry! "You're not leaving until we have settled this!" Harry instructed, even though he was Harry Potter he can't tell me what to do! Six years of friendship and he still thinks he can tell me what to do! "What?" I said, completely shocked at the way he spoke to me. "You heard me… sit down!" He exclaimed, pointing to the sofa like it was a time out chair. God, he had some nerve. I could feel my body shaking with anger, my blood boiling and my hands itching to grab for my wand. He was my best friend and I loved him, but sometimes he forgot his place as my friend. "Screw you all!" I shouted, turning swiftly on my heel, ignoring Ron's feeble attempt to grab my arm. I slammed the Fat Lady portrait on my way out making most of the paintings look at me in shock. Not caring where it was my legs were taking me, I stormed down the stone corridors, letting the cold air cool me down.

***Abbie POV***

I looked at Harry, Ron and Hermione in complete and utter disgust. I couldn't believe what they had done. Yelling at us for waving at someone we hated! Yeah, I understand where they are coming from, but it's not like we are bestest of friends now after one freaking lesson! "Well are you happy now. Never mind Malfoy and Zambini, she won't be talking to you! Six years! Six damn years yet you still don't trust us enough to work on a project. They may be the enemy Harry, but that's the point! The war is over now! You need to learn to move on and give people a chance. Let go of the petty rivalry we all had. Don't think I am taking sides, because I still can't stand them, but I'm willing to give them a chance… unlike some. I am going to go see if she is okay and when we come back you all better have a damn good apology because the way you treated Alex is not how friends are supposed to treat each other!" I didn't even give them time to respond, I just walked out, leaving them all with their jaws wide open.

I found Alex in the Great Hall around ten minutes later, curling her hair around her finger angrily. People were staring at her like she was a mad woman. "Alright everyone shows over stop staring! It's not like you haven't seen her angry before!" I shouted, effectively shooing away the crowd of students stood looking at her as if she was a circus act. "Hey girlie, how you doing? And stop doing that to your hair, it'll fall out eventually" I said trying my best to comfort her. She gave a weak smile, moving up on the bench. I sat down and said "You should have stuck around, my speech was awesome! Left every single one of them gobsmacked!" I said, priding myself in my confidence "I should do it more often!" I added, nudging her shoulder to get a bigger reaction. Thankfully, she gave in to my attempts at making her feel better and gave me the biggest smile. I hated seeing her upset, especially with all the past rubbish she has had to deal with from her family. "Thanks Abs, I kinda lost it in there didn't I?" Alex asked, looking up at me through her glassy eyes. I snorted a little at that, it quite possibly could have been the understatement of the year. She more than 'kinda' lost it, but I wasn't about to tell her that. "Uh yeah, let's say that you made quite the impression. No first years will dare to look at you after all that." She giggled at this and that made me smile.

***Draco POV***

After the whole Pansy freak out session, Blaise and I decided to stick around in the great hall for a bit. Not many people were there, well we didn't think so until a huge crowd was cleared from the Gryffindor table. Looking over I heard the familiar voice of Pip-Squeak Carlo. Wait! Pip-Squeak? I glanced at Blaise; he looked as surprised as I was. She was definitely finding her own voice, suppose it took her long enough. "What do you think that was all about?" Blaise asked me, trying to get a better view of the table. My eyes scanned the area which all the students had recently left and they landed on Pip-Squeak herself and the wild curly hair of Alex Malatia. With my curiosity getting the better of me I stood up, motioning for Blaise to follow. We tried to seem as casual as possible because it wasn't every day that you saw two Slytherins walking over to the Gryffindor table on their own free will. The two girls didn't seem to notice us at first so Blaise, not so subtly, cleared his throat, announcing our arrival. Malatia's head snapped up straight away and she had a completely guarded expression on her face. It was when she realised it was us that her eyes changed…and not really for the better. Both Malatia and Carlo were looking at us like we had just gone and hexed their boyfriend's, Pot-Head and Weasel. Apparently I wasn't the only one who noticed this because Blaise immediately looked to me, his eyes asking 'what have we done?' .I simply shrugged at him and took a seat opposite the two girls despite their looks of protest. "What are you doing Malfoy? You're honestly the last person I want to see right now," Malatia spat, glaring at me. It came as quite a shock, I mean I knew they didn't like us but I thought we were on sort of friendly terms after this morning's potions lesson. "What have I done to deserve that? We only came over to see what the fuss was about," I said, holding my hands up in mock surrender. Blaise joined me on the bench and was nodding in agreement to what I had said. Despite the fact that she was still giving me an icy glare, Alex sighed and turned to face us fully. Abbie followed suit, but she kept on looking at Malatia with worry in her eyes. Whatever had happened earlier, it must have been something big. I looked at Alex to see if I could gage what was wrong but she just looked normal to me. Her hair was as big and frizzy as it always was; her eyes were the same striking royal blue. Nothing was out of place. The silence seemed to stretch out for what felt like forever so I eventually piped up, "So what happened then Ali. Weasel picked Granger over you?" My voice held its usual mocking tone, but from the look I received from Pip-squeak, she obviously wasn't amused. "What's that supposed to mean Malfoy?" Pip asked, glaring daggers at me. Was she kidding? Anyone, even some first year Hufflepuff could tell that the Weasel had a major crush on Malatia. At first I thought she was joking with me but from the constant bored look I was receiving from the both of them I was obviously going to have to spell it out for them. "Isn't it obvious? Weasel-bee has it bad for Ali over here and I wouldn't be surprised if she was after him too!" I stated, waving my arms about as if it was obvious (which it was). Carlo still had an extremely blank look on her face but Malatia's was bordering on irritated. She fixed me with a glare and wasn't letting up. Damn, she could be bloody scary when she wanted to. "You wouldn't be surprised, Malfoy? Well it may come as a surprise to you but I do NOT like Ronald Weasley in that way and I'm pretty sure he doesn't '_have it bad' _for me, as you so kindly put it! Now if that's all you two idiots came over for, you can leave because I'm not in the mood!" She said, glaring at Blaise now too. Thankfully, no one was in earshot of that conversation, otherwise there would be some pretty interesting rumours flying about right about now. I returned my attention back to the seething girl in front of me and the clearly irritated friend beside her. Not actually knowing what to do in this situation, I began fiddling with the napkins that were left on the table from breakfast. Much to my relief, Blaise broke the slightly awkward silence "So what actually happened then? If it wasn't Weasley," He asked quietly, not wanting to provoke either of them too much. Malatia seemed to contemplate answering before she stubbornly looked at her hands like they were the most fascinating thing in the world. She could be so infuriating!

***Blaise POV***

I watched the conflicted look in Carlo's eyes. She kept on looking at Malatia then her hands then back to Malatia. I didn't dare ask again in case one of them completely lost it, I mean it wouldn't be the first time a girl had lost it with me, but from the looks of things, these two weren't the type to mess with. Carlo seemed to give in to my question, sighing in what seemed to be defeat. "What happened was. Harry, Hermione and Ron basically interrogated us because you two thought it would be clever to wink at us when you left potions. Now they think we are like best friends and they don't trust us…not that they did before but that's not my point." Carlo said, exasperated. I was slightly taken aback by her answer and it seemed Draco was too. What did she mean they didn't already trust them? I thought us Slytherins had messed up friendships, never would have thought the golden bloody five would. I couldn't help the look of confusion that made its way onto my face and I also couldn't help feeling slightly guilty because we were the reason that Scar-head had questioned them in the first place. "What and it didn't occur to them that we might have done it for a joke?" Draco asked, sounding incredulous. I couldn't help but snort at that, "Come on mate, we all know that they can't take a joke," I scoffed, shaking my head at his mistake. Draco also chuckled at my comment but the girl's opposite looked less than impressed and quite shocked to be frank. "Hey! They are still our best friends; just because we have had an argument doesn't mean that we are going to start talking about them behind their backs!" Carlo shouted, slamming her hand down on the table for effect. This made most of the goblets wobble on the table, catching half of the great halls attention. Everyone stared at us, shock horror plastered to their faces. They were completely gaping at all four of us, sometimes whispering to their friends. I'm pretty sure Draco was about to yell at them all to mind their own business until Malatia beat him to it. Whipping her head around she glared at each of them "You can all stop staring now or at least take a bloody picture 'cause it will last a hell of a lot longer!" She yelled, effectively making people cease their gawking. Smiling triumphantly to herself, Malatia turned back to us, suddenly turning serious again. "Listen, Abbie is right. Just because we have had a disagreement doesn't mean we are about to ditch almost 7 years of friendship," Malatia said evenly. I saw Draco shake his head unconvinced out of the corner of my eye and I completely agreed with him. No one in Slytherin truly trusted each other but we never called each other out because we were with another house. It just wasn't how things were supposed to work. At all. Before either myself or Draco could say anything to reply, Professor Sprout had hobbled over to us, "You lot better be getting back to your dorms, you know how the curfew is early on these half days that you have. Now best be off with ya's." She chirped, in her annoying Scottish accent. Reluctantly I stood up, tapping Draco on the shoulder to make him follow. He noticed that I was actually leaving and moved to stand up too. We both inclined our heads politely bidding our farewell until Carlo piped up from her side of the table "We are going to have to meet up at some point in the week to collect our ingredients for the potion, we'll owl you to let you know." She said quietly, looking at a wall straight over my shoulder. Not wanting to question her on this, I nodded my head was once again and turned to leave for the dungeons. I soon heard Draco's footsteps following behind me and it wasn't long before he fell into step beside me. We were pretty much silent on the way to the dungeons aside from the odd "Afternoon Professor" or "Hello Sir". Both of us were mainly thinking about the year that was in front of us. If we were going to have any chance at coming out of it alive, then we definitely needed to figure out the workings of Alex Malatia and Abbie Carlo's feminine minds. Without knowing the key to strange and incredibly complex puzzle, no man would be able to last longer than a day with the two extremely temperamental Gryffindor's. Obviously, we were in for a very interesting year.


End file.
